I had something completely different in mind to blog about today but when my best friend Ms. L called me with some tragic news that took place in her family I was moved to write something totally different. A 38 year old woman is no longer in this world today due to a heart attack that no one saw coming and obviously (because of her age and good health) could not have been predicted. Ms. L had just spoken to her last night and she was said to have been lively and energetic, without any sign of something being wrong. Then she was just gone.

Now while I did not know this person personally I feel sadness for Ms. L and her family and the immediate family of the person they lost. Mostly I feel such sadness for her 8 year old little girl who was unfortunate enough to be the one to find her because she had no idea (clearly) that this would be her last Christmas with her mother. This is a painful reminder of the fact that none of us are promised tomorrow.

I find myself constantly telling myself that I will start really living my life tomorrow, or next week, or next year, after I have everything mapped out. Today I realized the problem with that way of thinking. We don’t know what life we have left on this earth and because of that we have to start living that life. I’m not dismissing the act of planning what it is that you want to do in life (I don’t think I could stop planning if I tried) as well as what you want out of it. However, all of that planning should not go to waste by forgetting to live out those plans before we lose our chance to.

And for those of you out there who have unspoken words that you think you have all this time left to say, say them now because none of us know if we will have another time to say them. Until tomorrow…Never take for granted the life that you have.

My heart goes out to Ms L and her friends and family. You’re absolutely right, we never know when our lives will come to an end. This is a beautiful example of how we must live our lives to the fullest, feel love and be love. Our lives are a gift, that’s why we should live in the present.